


Stained

by yellowjelo



Series: U'Korih Tia [26]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alcohol, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcohol Poisoning, Coping, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Frostbite, Hurt/Comfort, Ishgard (Final Fantasy XIV), M/M, Male Miqo'te (Final Fantasy XIV), Miqo'te (Final Fantasy XIV), Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), PTSD, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Vomiting, blood mention, death talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 07:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20811173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowjelo/pseuds/yellowjelo
Summary: TRIGGER WARNINGPLEASE READ THE TAGS---Kori is found after a night at the Forgotten Knight---Thancred pulled his jacket closer around himself. He would say it was a cold night in Ishgard but it was always a cold night in Ishgard, there was no way to get around that fact. The only thing that kept him walking was the thought of a warm fire ready and waiting for him at home...at Aymeric’s home. A cool breeze whisked by him and he sped up his pace.





	Stained

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna stop making promises I wont keep.  
Drops this and yeets.

Thancred pulled his jacket closer around himself. He would say it was a cold night in Ishgard but it was always a cold night in Ishgard, there was no way to get around that fact. The only thing that kept him walking was the thought of a warm fire ready and waiting for him at home...at Aymeric’s home. A cool breeze whisked by him and he sped up his pace. 

He rounded the corner the de Borel house and stopped. There was a person lying flat in the snow in the middle of the street. He glanced around, there was no one else in sight being how late in the night it was and yet this person was just lying there. Thancred proceeded towards the figure. Perhaps they were injured and someone left them to die in the cold, would not be a first for Ishgard. He would have to bring them inside and tend to their wounds, there was no way he would let a man...oh by the gods was that Kori? 

Thancred all but sprinted to close the distance between himself and the man in the street. As he got closer he had started to notice details, miqo’te ears, violet hair, no shirt….it was definitely Kori lying face down in the snow. He bent low and placed a hand on Kori’s shoulder, he felt like ice, and rolled him over. He was still breathing, thank the gods, but he had definitely seen better days. The beginnings of frostbite were showing on his lips and skin and Kori absolutely reeked of alcohol. Thancred’s brow furrowed and he frowned. That was the way of it then. There was not much for it he needed to get Kori inside.

He heaved Kori to his feet, slinging an arm around his shoulders and started the slow trek down the rest of the street. At some point during their shuffle, Kori had awoken mumbled something incoherent and then passed out again. Thancred closed his eyes and begged for extra patience, Kori was still drunk. He dragged the other up the steps to Aymeric’s house and banged on the door, taking a moment to rearrange Kori’s weight against his side as he waited.

Aymeric opened the door fairly quickly, almost as if he had been expecting someone to come calling. His face broke out into a wide smile as his gaze fell upon Thancred on his doorstep. 

“Thancred, what a surprise--by Halone is that Kori?” He finally noticed the other and quickly stepped aside, “Get him inside quickly. To the lounge.” 

Thancred hefted Kori up and dragged him into the warmth of the house. He stumbled into the living room and placed Kori carefully onto one of the couches there. Inside, Thancred was able to get a better look at him. Kori was a mess of bruises, his lips had gone purple from the cold, and his fingers were looking slightly blue. The smell of alcohol was all the more potent inside walls and Thancred fought the urge to hold his nose. He sighed and looked up at Aymeric who had walked over to do his own examination of the other. 

“Do we know what happened?” Aymeric spoke softly, as if afraid he would startle Kori. 

“I have a good guess,” Thancred reached over and grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch to toss over the other as he slept, “I found him in the street like this and I’m all to familiar with a drunken walk through the night, have been on a few myself. I would say he was likely on his way here from The Forgotten Knight when he fell unconscious.”

Aymeric nodded, “I’ll put on a pot of tea for when he awakens.” 

“Might want to throw some medicinal herbs in the pot while you’re at it,” Thancred called after him as Aymeric made his way to the kitchen, “Our partner is gonna have one hell of a headache.” 

He could hear Aymeric hum his agreement from the other room. Thancred shrugged out of his coat and tossed it into a chair to side before sitting on the couch at Kori’s feet. 

“What demons are haunting you to cause you to go this far?” He muttered as he started to strip Kori out of his frozen clothing. 

There was a groan and a hissing noise as Kori started to regain consciousness, spurred by Thancred’s ministrations. 

“Mmm..wh’re ‘m i?” Kori’s words were heavy and thick on his tongue. 

He sat up slowly, grabbed his head and immediately fell back against the pillows. 

“Fuck,” He groaned and placed a hand over his mouth as his body lurched. 

“Oh no no,” Thancred reached for a decorative bowl on a side table and brought it to Kori’s chin, “You will not puke on Aymeric’s carpet. Neither of us will hear the end of it.” 

Kori grabbed the bowl in both his hands and brought himself upright again as his body heaved the contents of his stomach. Thancred rearranged himself on the couch so he could push back Kori’s fringe as his partner continued to vomit into the bowl. He let out a low sigh, he was displeased with finding his lover nearly dead in the snow but he couldn’t be angry at him for there was surely a reason for his recklessness. 

Aymeric returned as Kori started to dry heave and set the teapot down on a nearby table, “You really couldn’t find anything better for him to use than my bowl?” 

“I had about less than a second to react, would you have preferred I let him use your carpet?” Thancred side-eyed Aymeric with a wry smile. 

Aymeric poured a cup of tea and handed it to Kori in exchange for the used bowl, “I suppose you did the right thing. At least the bowl can be easily cleaned.” 

Kori downed the tea in a heartbeat and started coughing which caught both of their attentions. 

“Slow down, you’re going to make yourself sick again,” Thancred placed his hands on Kori’s shoulders squeezing tightly. 

“I feel like I was run over by Zenos riding a dragon,” Kori replied and set the empty cup aside. 

“Very specific,” Aymeric came over and bent down at the edge of the couch, “and I’m sure it is accurate given the state Thancred found you in.” 

“If I had come by a few moments later we would be chipping your body out of an ice block,” Thancred said dryly, mouth set in a line. 

Kori at least had enough of his mind left to look embarrassed by Thancred’s admittance. He ran a hand along the back of his neck and stared down at his knees. 

“I must have had one ale too many,” he muttered, “My apologies.” 

Aymeric placed a hand on Kori’s knee, “Love, you had us frightened. What caused you to go to such lengths?” 

“Feeling suicidal were we?” Thancred mumbled and both the other men pretended not to hear it. 

Kori’s ears flattened against his head and his tail thumped against the couch as he turned his head away and said, “It was nothing. Just one too many drinking games with the Temple Knights.” 

Thancred and Aymeric shared a look, one thought bouncing between the two of them. 

_ He’s lying. _

Aymeric stood slowly and brushed down the front of his pants before speaking, “If that is the case then I must reprimand my Knights for their behavior. They may have been off duty but they still have honor to uphold.” 

Kori’s ears perked back up and he clutched at the blanket pooling around his waist, “What, no, you can’t do that!” 

“They should know better than to push you past your limits,” Aymeric turned and made as if heading for the door, “You were nearly on death's door, I will not stand for it.” 

Kori pushed himself further up and pulled the blanket up around his shoulders, “It wasn’t them! Don’t do anything to the Temple Knights, they were nothing but kind to me. I did this to myself. I lied.” 

Thancred snorted, “Now that we’ve gotten that out, care to tell us what actually happened?”

Aymeric set himself down into his favorite chair with a nod and fixed Kori with his gaze. 

Kori looked between the two of them and pulled his knees to his chest wrapping his arms around them, tail curling around himself. There was silence in the room for a moment, everyone waiting for Kori to speak but no one wanting to rush him. 

“They haunt me,” Kori stated as he stared down at his feet. 

More silence as Aymeric and Thancred waited for Kori to elaborate. It took a few minutes and Thancred opened his mouth to press on when Kori spoke again. 

“Those that I’ve killed. I-I see their faces at times,” Kori’s voice was small and shaky, “They haunt me. They like to remind me how much blood is on my hands. So much blood. I don’t even know who is who anymore. The soldiers, the civilians, the people just doing their jobs and living their lives. The lives I ended. I don’t even ask questions anymore. The alliance points me in the right direction and says jump...heh...it doesn’t even have to be the alliance. I met a guy once who asked me to help kill his enemies for him and I did. It was so easy, one spell, one shot, three men’s lives over. Three mothers weeping for their sons. Three families that will never see a loved one return. I don’t know if those men deserved to die. I was just doing a job. Helping another person out. So much blood...I--I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

Kori opened his palms in front of himself and stared down at them, his gaze much further away than this room. 

“I left home to become an adventurer. I wanted to see the world, to fight off beast and save damsels, and have great amazing stories to tell to people that I meet. But I guess Hydaelyn has other plans, huh? I became a warrior...no...a dog...a dog who people point in the right direction and tell to attack. I know this, I know that their lives and their families lives and the things that they could have become, those are all burdens that lay on my shoulders but I don’t stop. I keep attacking and keep killing...for Eorzea...for the betterment of this star...I keep going but there’s so much blood on my hands. I don’t think I will ever be able to wash them clean. They’re stained for good now.” 

Silence. 

“I just wanted to stop thinking for a little while,” Kori finished softly, “That’s all.” 

Aymeric stood up from his chair and walked over. He pushed Kori down the couch to squish him against Thancred and then sat himself down next to the others. Aymeric pulled Kori in gently against his chest and wrapped his arms around him. 

“I never knew you had such thoughts,” he whispered gently against Kori’s hair, “You should have said something.” 

Kori let out a short laugh but leaned into Aymeric’s warmth all the same, “What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey guys, I know I’m your only hope for salvation but do you think I could get a break between world calamities?’” 

Thancred pressed a hand against Kori’s chest, the warmth of it radiating against Kori’s cold skin, “We all have done things we’re not proud of for the sake of survival.” 

Kori’s ears turned towards him and his eyes widened, “Shit! Thancred, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories I-”

The hand on Kori’s chest moved up to cup his neck as Thancred cut him off “-no, don’t. What I mean to say is, that we have all been there at one point or another. There are better ways to cope with the nightmares than to drown yourself in ale. I’m sure if you asked around any one of the Scions could tell you what they use to quiet those thoughts.” 

Thancred looked up at Aymeric and smiled, “In fact, I’m quite certain our Lord Commander here has a few tricks up his sleeves as well.” 

“That I certainly do. I’ve had to make a lot of hard choices that I am not proud of,” Aymeric rested his chin on the top of Kori’s head, “But I find it is easiest to sleep at night when the two of you are here with me.” 

Kori’s ear twitched from Aymeric’s breath making it tickle, he tried to wiggle free from between the two of them but found he was fairly stuck in Aymeric’s grasp. Instead he resorted to pouting. 

“That was sappy,” Kori called out and he felt the rumble of Aymeric’s chuckle behind him. 

“Perhaps but it is the truth,” Aymeric replied, “Being around those you love can do wonders for ones mind.” 

Thancred brushed a stray hair out of Kori’s face and leaned in slowly, Kori pushed his head up expectantly only to have the other bump his forehead against his own. Thancred took a deep breath, eyes closed, and let it out again. 

“Don’t do that again,” He whispered, “If you feel the need to drown your thoughts come find me. Promise me this.” 

Kori nodded and bit his lower lip, “Promise.” 

“Good,” Thancred leaned back and pushed himself up off the couch, “Now go shower. You smell like Chocobo ass.” 

Kori sighed and Aymeric released him from his grasps. He stood and stretched his aching muscles before turning towards Thancred with a glint in his eyes. 

“Fine fine,” Kori’s voice took on a playful lit, “But only if you join me.” 

“After Aymeric and I clean up your mess, surely,” Thancred responded in kind, matching Kori’s smile with his own. 

Kori flitted away towards the stairs leading up to the bedroom while Aymeric and Thancred took care of the bowl and the tea that had been left behind. 

“Perhaps we should find some way to give him a break from all this fighting,” Aymeric mused as the two of them headed for the kitchen. 

“If only that was an option,” Thancred’s voice dropped again, “For now we’ll just have to be here to support him when things get bad.” 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Follow Kori's adventures on instagram @Ukorih.Tia


End file.
